


Years in the Life of Eloise Vane

by Ellielaw66



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Hogwarts years 1-7, I will put a trigger warning if needed, M/M, Original Character As Main Character, Original Characters - Freeform, Should be pretty long, There may be touchy subjects later, Wolfstar and Jily will both be cannon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-02-09 22:00:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12897723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellielaw66/pseuds/Ellielaw66
Summary: [Years in the Life of Eloise Vane] is a fanfiction about original characters of mine mixed with characters we know and love from the Harry Potter universe such as Lily Evans. It is set between the years of 1971-1978 (also known as the Marauders' Era) and into the 1st Wizarding War at Hogwarts. It features main character, and OC of mine, Eloise Vane, and others and their lives through Hogwarts and beyond.





	1. The Start

**Author's Note:**

> We know very little, canonically, about the Marauders' Era so it will be left up to my interpretation, but being apart of this fandom, you see headcanons and such, so my interpretations will aline with what I personally think and ideas of others. 
> 
> P.S. I am not an A+ writer, but I hope through this fanfic I will grow.  
> P.P.S This fanfic may be a little slow since a lot of pre-Hogwarts, year 1 & 2 will be a lot building up. Introducing characters: OC and canon, building up friendships which will grow in later years, and such.  
> P.P.P.S I know my writing isn't very British so just go along with it. Thanks

My door opens with a small creak and light floods into my dark room. I turn my head and squint at the bright light. My mother’s figure is illuminated by the bright hallway lights. When she goes to turn on the lights, I hiss. She looks at me, accusingly, but just laughs and lets her hand fall. She comes over to my bed and my mattress dips under her weight. She's holding something behind her back that I can’t see.

“What are you doing up still?” She tilts her head to look at my screen, she laughs a little, “ _Night of the Living Dead_ , huh? A classic. How many times have you seen that now? 6?” I nod and drop my head on her shoulder, suddenly feeling very tired, she ruffles my hair and kisses my forehead. Get to bed soon, it’s almost 11, how much longer's the movie?” She smells like honey and almond and earth.

“About 23 minutes.” My voice croaks a little since I was still recovering from a throat illness, mono, I believe, which was especially terrible in hot July.

My mother smiles, “fine. Finish the movie. But tomorrow is a special day, even if you don’t think it is.” She takes my hand and kisses my knuckles, “you will get it, I promise.” She says it against my knuckles so I could barely hear her. 

She looks up at me and I smile a bit, unsure. “If you say so.” My most exciting and possibly most disappointing birthday was finally here and I didn’t know how to feel about it. My whole life I have grown in a world of magic and mundane, with two magical parents it was inevitable that I’d be a witch, but there were those few unlucky people who are born to two magic parents with no powers. It seems I was more likely to have that fate seeing as I how I had never shown any magical abilities. By age 10, a wizard or witch had  _at least_ accidentally levitated a book. But me? Zilch. Never even moved a spoon an inch. 

Maybe I had subconsciously stopped any powers from manifesting because I was disgusted by how they treated my mother: a Ravenclaw, a smart and beautiful woman born to a muggle and a magical parent. She then married my father, a pureblooded Slytherin who had a ravenous thirst for knowledge.

My parents constantly felt judged because they were an integrated-house couple at Hogwarts, and it was known that what house you were in typically followed you in life. On top of that, my mother was a half-blood with “tainted” blood and my father was a Pureblood who should’ve "never mixed his blood with hers". I may be a child, almost 11, but I have grown up in 2 worlds, mixed together and I have seen the prejudices of both. My mother being a poor muggle-born and the judgment that constantly bombarded my father simply because he didn't marry whom everyone had expected him to-some pureblooded from the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Both of my worlds were filled with such prejudice and hate, it was sickening.

She runs a hand through my tangled hair, her long nails sharp against my scalp. I lean more into the touch. She rubs her hand through my hair until I fall asleep. When I awake there is nothing left but the smell of honey and almond. I fall back asleep with a smile on my face, welcoming the familiar smell.

***

My alarm goes off early, somewhere around 7:45, but I don’t rise until around 20 minutes later. I could smell the bacon and pancakes beckoning me downstairs and decided I better get down there before they are all eaten.

I hop out of bed and throw on my robe and slippers and shuffle downstairs, following the delicious scent. I walk into the kitchen, but I don't see anyone, so I decide to just take all I want, filling my plate up with a bunch of eggs, at least 5 pancakes, some sausage, and bacon. I also pour myself some coffee that was already made and make my way into the adjacent living room.

And I discover where everyone was: my dog, Salazna, was lying on our plush rug in front of the TV, which was playing reruns of the Addams Family. On the couch where my parents, wrapped up in blankets, displaying a disgusting amount of PDA. I clear my throat, but they don’t hear me until I yell, “EHEM!” My mom pulls away and smiles, her golden brown eyes shining. My dad laughs darkly from behind her and then grins. I, in turn, gag.

She motions me over and I set my plate down, out of Salazna’s reach, and sit down in between them. They look at one another and smile before looking at me. My dad hands me an envelope, his eyes shining with excitement. Neither of them says anything as I take the envelope. I read my name and then our address and flip it over. I look and feel the raised seal and I don’t whether to smile or cry or hiss. I was shocked, shocked that I had received a letter. I had never shown any promise as a witch, not even a flicker.

It’s not that I didn’t want to go to Hogwarts. Despite, my parent's hardships there and after, I had grown up with marvelous stories of my parent’s time at Hogwarts.They both had been very active at Hogwarts, my mother a chaser for Ravenclaw and my father a beater. My father had also been prefect his 5th and 6th year and then head boy of Slytherin his 7th year, but it was no surprise my mother never had any role like that. She was authoritative, yes, and she was a natural leader, but she was never interested in anything like that. She preferred being out on the Quidditch pitch or playing well-thought-out pranks on fellow Ravenclaws. That's actually how my parents met: one of her pranks got way out of hand and a bunch of students from various houses got involved and my father, a 5th-year prefect at the time, had to deal with some of the Slytherins involved. My mother always insisted it had not been love at first sight and my father always insisted that it indeed was, at least for him. 

Aside from stories like that, I knew my mother had met her dearest friends at Hogwarts as well as my father. I had read their old schools books, overwhelmed by the magic of our world. We lived in Muggle England, very close to the Wizarding world, so we regularly visited there, traveling to Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, or the occasional trek towards the Ministry when we visit my dad at work.

Despite all that, the letter still feels heavy in my hand and I begin to tremble a bit. My father pats my left hand and my mother squeezes my right. I open it tentatively and my eyes tear up as I unfold it and I read:

Dear Miss. Vane,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.   
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.   
Yours sincerely,   
  
Minerva McGonagall   
Deputy Headmistress

My parents smile and whisper, “happy 11th birthday." I smile back and continue reading what’s enclosed in the envelope: what pieces I needed for my uniform, course books, and other supplies. I also read over what pets were allowed. I really wanted an owl, they seemed the most useful, but I didn’t want Salazna to feel unloved. 

I stare down at the pages. I just stare and stare. You would think I would be jumping up and down at the fact I would get to go the most wonderful place in the world for magical beings, and it was somewhat worrisome that I wasn't, but do I really want a magical life, I was plenty comfortable in the muggle world. Questions begin pounding in my head: Did I even want to go to a school that made my parents feel so insecure about their love for one another? Did I want to deal with those insecurities myself? Did I want to have to go somewhere where I may not even be able to make friends and then I'm just alone? Did I want to be separated from the people I cherished most in the world?

I had some friends-not many-but nobody I ever felt really bonded to, except maybe Elizabeth, who was a year older than me. She was the daughter of one of my dad’s Scottish friend from Hogwarts. Elizabeth had a younger brother, a year younger than me. I hadn’t seen her since she got her acceptance letter and was sent to school. She wrote every month, updating me about school, trying to get me excited in the case I did get my letter and I loved her dearly. But would one friend be enough? What if we were in different houses, she had been sorted into Hufflepuff, and I never even saw her?

Before my freak becomes a full-on panic attack, my parents rush out of the room and not even a minute later, they are crossing the threshold, holding a bundle of clothing-their old school uniforms. My father had his old uniform in his arms along with his wand and my mother was holding her own uniform and wand and when I jumped up a bit from my excitement, she bonks me on the nose with it and laughs. I grab the robes and throw them on.

I use to make my parents race me to see who could put their entire outfit together in the shortest amount of time, so I was pretty efficient at putting on the uniform by now (about 48 seconds, but who's counting?) I fasten the Slytherin tie around my throat and the Ravenclaw scarf over it. I was completely covered in their mismatched uniforms. I was wearing oversized everything: Ravenclaw robes, Slytherin socks, a Ravenclaw skirt that almost fell off my slim figure, and a baggy white button-down. I wiggle my toes and smile, looking up at my parents. 

They were smiling back down at me, but they both had almost-unnoticeable pained looks in their eyes. They were excited to see me excited. I smile back. My mother sinks to her knees and wraps her arms around me, I am engulfed in the honey, almond smell once more. My father puts a hand on my shoulder. I look up at him through foggy eyes and when my mom pulls away, he grabs me and throws me over his shoulder. He grunts under my weight and it probably just dawned on him that he wasn't as physically fit as he once was.

I melt into a puddle of laughter as he bounces me around. “Where do you want to go for your birthday? What do you want to do?” He sets me down and sinks down to one knee and looks at me.

I put a finger to my chin, “hmm I wanna get some of my stuff for school, let’s go to Diagon Alley and then stop by Knockturn Alley. Can we also visit Elizabeth?”

He smiles at me and nods. "Sounds like a plan. Go get ready. We can leave when we are all ready.” I shake my head and bounce up the stairs. When I make it to the stairs, I turn around. My father has his mom in his arms, she is looking at him with pained eyes and he responds with the same look. They probably had the same fears as I did. 


	2. Diagon Alley

After about an hour we were all ready and heading out the door. My mother was wearing beautiful, plain purple robes made of a light, flowy material and underneath she was wearing a white blouse with a bird print matched with a black skirt. Her matching purple heels brought the whole look together. She looked so beautiful and put together, I often wondered if she dresses like this because she is trying to compensate for the fact she is will always be a muggleborn married to a pureblood.

  
My father was also dressed in lightweight robes because of the July heat. His robes were green and he wore all grey clothing underneath and converse. I, too, was converse. My outfit consisted of a purple tank top and a denim skirt.

We were close enough to an entrance to Wizarding England that we could simply walk. As we made our way, my dad smiled to people he knew and waved to acquaintances.

We make it to Diagon Alley. It was so colorful and loud and full of life. Magic was running through the streets. Everyone was wearing robes and had wands. It was so different from Muggle London and I although I love London, Diagon Alley always felt more like home.

People nod and smile as we walk past and of course people also looked at us in disgust and whispered to one another. My mother kept her chin up the entire time, even when people sneered at her or shot her disgusted glares. My dad held her hand and squeezed it every time something like that happened, but she never squeezed back. It took her forever to convince my father not to react when someone was cruel so I believe him holding her hand was more for his benefit than hers. I held my mother’s other hand. She looked so calm and I didn’t understand how. Just like my dad, I wanted to go bonkers when someone treated her unfairly, but I held my tongue as she had asked me too.

After walking a ways we make it to Ollivander’s. When we open the door, the bell jingles and an old man appears from around corner. He smiles at my mother, kissing her on the cheek. She had been an apprentice for Ollivander when she first got out of Hogwarts and they still worked together occasionally, but her work in studying wands and their lore was more private now. He shook hands at my father and smiled at me.  
“Bound for Hogwarts, are we? Well, let’s see.” He closes his eyes. “Holly for the wood may be a good choice, but we will see.” My mother nods. He turns to the back of his store.

After a minute he comes back with a stack of wands. “Let’s try these and then we can go from there.” I nod and he hands me the first wand. “That is a holly wood wand with a phoenix core. It is quite bendy and measures 13 inches.” It was a nice wand. It felt a bit heavy in my hand. “Go on. Try a spark of magic.” I reach inside myself, pulling at any magic that may be underneath. After a moment, a small white spark shoots out the end of the wand and it is shocked out my hand. I shake my hand out, feeling a bit burned from the electricity.  
He hands me the next one. Redwood with a dragon heartstring core. It’s brittle and measures 12 ½ inches. It is another flop.

The next wand is made of oak wood. It was the longest of the 3 I have tried, measuring at 13 ¾ inches. It was very, very flexible and when I tried to make magic come out of it, the wand bent and shot a spark at my father. He laughed and shook his head, “that is not it.”

After what felt like an hour more of looking, Ollivander brought out 2 more wands. He looked very excited. “I feel one of these is promising.” Behind me, my parents were betting which one it would be, they had finally sat down after being tired of standing, my father bets on the one in the blue box and my mom bets on the one in the green.

I didn’t think it would be either but I took the wand he gave me, the one in the green box, and tried. It was made of ebony wood and had a beautiful design of swirls etched onto it, the swirls were also covered in roses. It had a curved handle and he informed me it had rigid flexibility. He also told me that the wand had a phoenix feather core and was 12 ¾ inches.

I close my eyes and start to feel the warmth of what I assume is magic skirt up my arm. I focus on doing anything with it, anything that would prove that this was my wand. Orange sparks come out of the wand and light a candle on Ollivander’s table. I open my eyes and smiled. I twirl around to my parents, they were grinning too, my mother looked especially happy, probably because she had won the bet.

Ollivander smiles and nods, “that is the one. Similar to your mother’s. Louisa, may I see yours?” My mother pulls out her wand from inside her robes and hands it to him. It was a beautiful wand made of dark brown wood. It was about the same length as mine, perhaps a quarter of an inch longer. I knew it to be very brittle and it had a unicorn hair core. It had pieces of wood slithering up either side of the wand all the way to the tip, it resembled that of ivy, it also seemed to have a flowery design on the tip. My mother had carved that into her wand in her 7th year. Ivy and flowers--beautiful, but dangerous. Ollivander smiles down at the wand, moving it between his fingers, “I always loved this wand, maybe, because I knew I was creating it for a woman I would come to care for dearly and who I knew I could expect exceptional things from.” My mother took Ollivander’s hand and smiled.

We began to leave Ollivander’s when a crowd of people come in. A man and woman with orange hair were coming in and the man looked distraught. “Molly, I didn’t mean to break it.”  
The woman shook her head, “well, Arthur, you never ‘mean to.’” We make brief eye contact and she smiles at me before going back to argue with the man.

After we leave, my father asks, “do you want to get the rest of your school supplies while we are here?” I nod, excited. Before we head up to the North Side of Diagon Alley we stopped by Twilfit and Tattings. My mother was explaining how she had just seen a beautiful purple hat they had just got in store. After, she bought that we headed off to the North Side.

“Let’s try to make it quick so we can do everything else we wanted to do today though.” My mother and father look at one another as if to say, you can’t rush Hogwarts preparation but shrugged and we began fast walking through Diagon Alley.

We first stopped in Potage’s Cauldron to buy the standard size cauldron required and then we went to the apothecary next store to buy some materials that my mother had run out of. Afterwards, we headed to Madam Malkin’s to buy my plain school uniform. Then to the ice cream parlor nearby for a break, I got butterbeer ice cream. My mother got raspberry and my father got vanilla.

After that break, we went to Wiseacre’s to get additional school materials like the set of brass scales I needed. My mother got into a lengthy discussion with a one of the workers, William, whom she had apparently played Quidditch with at Hogwarts. He was in 6th year when she joined the team in 4th.

We finally drag my mother from reminiscing about the "good old days". As we head to Flourish and Blotts, she jokes that she had the biggest crush on him in 5th grade to which my father responds, “we started dating in 5th year.” My mother just shrugs, saying that they didn’t start dating until the end of the year.

Usually, kids would just use their parent’s school books, but my parents had donated theirs to a used bookstore on South Side so we needed to buy all new ones. I had already read a few of them since we still had the ones my parents kept, but it didn’t matter since all the books were new and updated. There were even a few I had never heard of like The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble. We were carrying over 12 books by the time we left.

“So, Eloise, have you decided whether or not you want an animal?” My father asks, knowing that I didn’t want to hurt the sensitive feelings of Salazna. I think for a moment, weighing the pros and cons and then decide that yes, there is room in my heart for more than one animal.

“I would like a cat. A black cat.”

My mother grins, “like the one I had at Hogwarts?”

My father rolls her eyes, “here we go.”

“Bloomsberry the 3rd was a beloved animal. Even though your father rolls his eyes, he loved that cat. Bloomsberry was a bit of a trouble-maker though. Always following me to class or eating up my parchment or trying to trip your father or my friends, but he was one of the best things about Hogwarts. Oh, you are going to love your cat!” I smile at my mother’s enthusiasm and laugh at my dad’s annoyance.

We go to the magical menagerie. As soon as we walk in, we are hit with a rather atrocious smell. Owls were flying around the room, cats were climbing over furniture. Mice ran past our feet and toads were on tables sitting, seemingly bored. “Hello?” My mother calls out over the animal’s ruckus.

      After a moment we hear a clatter and a little woman with shining blonde hair appears. She is covered in a mess of things and if we weren’t so closely familiar with her we wouldn’t have even recognized her.                    “Clementine?” my mother asks, confused.

Clementine looks at us as if just registering us and then smiles. “Hello, Louisa.” She inclines her head to my father, “William.” Then, she sees me and rushes over, “oh! Eloise you look have grown so big and oh and that top, so cute!” I smile and hug Elizabeth’s mother.

Clementine hugs me back and then looks at my mother, “probably wondering why I am here.”  
“I was actually, I thought you were in Canada, studying animals over there. And you weren’t scheduled to come back for like another week or so.”

Clementine shrugs, “yes. Well, the Pixies were a dead end. Not a trace of them on the Alaska border, as suspected. I am so glad I came back though, I can now personally give you your Hogwarts pet. How I adore running this store. Of course, it is great to be out researching magical creatures, but this is home.”  
She bustles into the back room and comes out a moment later with a small black fur ball in her arms. She passes it over to me with a smile. “This is Lolita, she was just born about 13 weeks ago so you can rename her if you so desire.”

I hold the kitten in my arms, she was so small and soft and seemed so fragile. I lightly tap her name, “I like Lolita.” At the sound of her name, her eyes open slowly. Her eyes are like little citrines and her pupils grow when light enters the eye. She looks up at me and stretches. “I like her.” I look up at Clementine and smile, “is Elizabeth around? We were gonna stop by your home later but if you are here...”

Clementine nods, her old blonde curls bouncing, “yeah she should be arriving later tonight with her grandmother. She didn’t get a pet last year and has decided to get an owl this year, most likely a snowy owl.”

“Well we’ll see her on the platform in less than a month, we are heading down to Knockturn Alley and then heading home to celebrate this little girl’s birthday.” He ruffles my head.

Clementine smile becomes a little forced, “well then, have a good rest of your birthday, sweetling.” I smile at her and hug her one last time. She hugs me back tightly, “I have missed you, dear Eloise.” She pulls away, holding me at arm's length. “I know that Elizabeth has missed you even more.” My mother rubs my shoulders and we walk out. The bell jingle as we exit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for the late update, school *and biology in particular* are a pain, you know how it is. Leave comments? (Sorry for any grammatical errors, I am new at this :))


	3. Hogwarts Bound

It was finally September 1st and I didn’t know how to feel about it. I stood looking at myself in to the mirror, playing with the edge of my dress. I decided to wear a white button-down shirt with a blue dress on top of it. Leggings would also be a smart choice since I’d be moving around in the windy air. I put on the leggings then my converse and walk out of my room and to the stairs. My trunk and everything was already packed and downstairs in the entryway. 

I take a deep breath and descend the stairs. My mother was leaning against the kitchen counter and smiles when I enter the kitchen, “hello, love. Ready?” I feel more sick than ready, but I nod. Seemingly sensing my distress, she wraps her arms around me. I snuggle into her warmth and I feel like a 7-year-old girl again. She kisses my head and pulls away, holding me at arm’s length. “Everything will be good. I know you will thrive there.” She leans down and whispers, “I really hope you’ll be in Ravenclaw, but don’t tell your father.” Knowing my parents, they had probably made a bet on which house I would be in. My mother probably bet on Ravenclaw (obviously) and Hufflepuff. While my dad most likely bet Slytherin and Gryffindor (ironic since the 2 houses were enemies on principle or whatever).

I smile at her and we walk to the entryway, my dad just came back in and he smiles, “hello, lovely ladies. You have everything you need, Eloise?” 

I nod, “mhm, but can you send me extra parchment while I’m there?” I loved to write and I often wrote too much and my parents were constantly having to buy new rolls of parchment. I had a bunch already in my trunk but I suspected it wouldn’t last more than a month or 2. 

“We’ll send it to you before the second week is over.” 

“Yes and don’t forget weekly photos of Salzana, but never a howler. Those sound terrible.” I shake my finger at them accusingly and smile.

“No promises,” my father says with a smile in return. I thought he was joking but there was a look in his eye that unnerved me.

My mother rolls her eyes and shoves him lightly, “okay you two, let’s go.” She takes my hand and squeezes it. I’m not looking at her, but I can see from the corner of my eye that she releases a deep breath and grabs on to my dad’s hand. He looks at her, sad, but she keeps looking forward, her eyes straight forward and her head held high. She didn’t look anything like the mother who had just hugged me, not even 10 minutes ago. She put on the cold exterior she always wears when we are in public. I’ve been aware of it for at least 5 years now and each time I get a shiver. 

***

We arrive at the train station, it was bustling and so loud. I wondered how many in the station were wizards and how many were seemingly clueless about the world. We quickly made our way to Platform 9 ¾. My mother notices a muggle family, struggling. Usually, she would pay no mind, but the young girl had an owl, which was very unusual for a typical muggle. She drops her cold exterior and we walk over and offer our assistance. The young girl’s mother looked like she was about to cry as she thanked my mother and we continued on to Platform ¾.

Not until we are on the platform together does the young girl introduce herself. “I’m Josephine.” She has a very thick Irish accent and extends her hand which I shake. I introduce myself in turn. 

Josephine didn’t look 11, more 14. Her dark hair is long and is styled into multiple thick braids that all reached down to her waist. She was wearing a mint green blouse and grey pants. Her bright brown eyes were stunning against her very dark skin. We decide to board the train together. We separate because her parents were practically glued to the wall and mine were mingling with one of my dad’s coworkers. 

I look around the platform, there were at least 60 people on the platform, it appeared many students were already on the train. Further down the platform was a group of girls who were all giggling, looking around, and reminiscing about their first year. 

There was a scrawny boy, who I knew immediately as a 1st year because of the fact he stood by himself and looked very uncomfortable. He was taller than most other 11-year olds and had scars all over his body, as far as I could see, and he seemed more nervous than I did about the whole prospect of Hogwarts. 

Two adults, I assumed to be his parents, were talking to him, but he seemed distracted and looked as if he were about to barf. He looks all around the platform, everywhere except at them. We make eye contact and I give a tentative little wave, unsure of what else to do when he held eye contact. He didn’t smile but gave a tentative wave back and then simply turned to his parents once more. 

I continue to look around, curious about everyone around me. There was a boy nearby, who looked like he was also a 1st year, he had dark hair that reached down past his ears, but it was neatly combed despite him running his hand through it constantly. He looked annoyed as his mother talked to him. I recognized his mother as Walburga Black. If I remember correctly, Sirius Black was the Black that was my age and his brother, Regulus was a year younger. 

The Blacks didn’t much like my family because of my mother, but we had attended some of the same events in the past. His mother’s eyes slid to mine for a slip second and her lips drew back, but she turned to his son once more. I heard her say to him, “if it is anything but Slytherin, so help me.” Her son just continued to nod absentmindedly, running his hand through his hair. His eyes wandered and landed on a boy with messy hair and square glasses. The boy had a large smile on his face and was laughing at his parents who I thought I recognized, but I wasn’t sure where from. 

I stop looking around and look at the train and then to my parents. They were holding hands and staring at the train. Despite the very public atmosphere, my mother’s icy exterior had dropped and she was practically glowing. My father leans over and whispers something to my mother and she giggles and slaps him lightly on the chest. He smiles deviously. She just keeps shaking her head. 

She waves me over and I walk the short distance. My father puts a hand on my shoulder, “you are going to flourish at Hogwarts and you are going to have a hell of a good time whilst doing it.” 

“I sure hope so.”

My parents say collectively, “we know so.” 

The train’s whistle blows. I say a quick goodbye and hug them like it’s the last time I’ll see them. I breathe in my mother’s almond scent and my father’s pine smell. I release them and a tear falls from my mother’s eye but is quickly wiped away. I lift my trunk up and board the train. 

***

Josephine falls into step behind me. I smile at the familiar face, glad to have met someone who I can sit with. We move down the train, trying to find somewhere to sit. We pass a compartment with a red-headed girl next to a very pale boy. Sirius and the other boys I noticed earlier entered the compartment much to what seemed to be the boy’s and girl’s disdain. 

We eventually find a compartment that we thought was empty, but upon entering Josephine and I noticed a small, pale girl sitting in the corner, bunched up against the window. 

She turns towards us. Her eyes are dark enough that they looked black and stood out starkly against her almost translucent skin. She had black, straight hair that hung over her face like a curtain and she seemed to be trying to hide behind it. 

Josephine steps back, “sorry, we can find another compartment.” 

The girl shakes her head and clears her throat, “you can stay.” Her voice was a bit raspy like she hadn’t talked for awhile. I couldn’t hear any kind of accent since she was talking so quietly. 

Josephine looks at me and I nod. She smiles at me and quickly sits down across from the girl after putting her trunk up. I follow after. We all sit quietly for a few minutes and I excuse myself, saying I need to use the loo. 

Josephine nods and the other girl continues to look out the window as we pull away. 

I exit the compartment and I don’t make it 10 feet before I crash into someone. We both yell out “ouch!” The girl squeals and hits her hip on the side of the train as she falls and I fall over and hit my head on her shoulder. 

We look at one another, her eyes were a light blue. Her hair was similar to mine in color but was straighter where mine had curls in it. I smile sheepishly at her and rub my head, “I’m sorry.”

She waves me off, rubbing her head, “it’s alright. I wasn’t looking. I am actually a little lost, are you a third-year, can you help me?” 

“I can help you, but I’m actually a first-year like you. My name is Eloise.”

She nods, “oh. You’re just very tall, I guess.” 

I rub my head awkwardly, “I get that a lot.” 

“Oh and I’m Caroline James. Pleasure.” I shake her hand, tentative. She grimaces, “do wizards and witches not usually shake hands. I’m from a regular people family, well, that’s not necessarily true, my grandmother on my father’s side was a witch, but anyways.”

“Oh, no, wizards and witches shake hands all the time, people our age just usually don’t.” She laughs and nods. “I’m a half-blood, but I kinda grew up in the muggle world. You are what wizards call ‘muggle-born’ it’s easier than saying ‘from a regular people family’.”

She nods and I think she was taking mental notes, “got it. You wanna grab a compartment together?” 

“I already have one but there is enough room for another person. It’s about 3 down. There’s a pale girl and a dark-skinned girl whose name is Josephine in the compartment already.” She heads towards the compartment. 

When I get back from the restroom, I happen to look inside the compartment with the girl with the red hair. It seemed another boy had joined the compartment, he was roundish and seemed uncomfortable. He probably had nowhere else to go and had to sit there. She was looking rather angry at the 2 boys who had joined and were pointedly ignoring them to talk to the pale boy. Despite, her not paying attention, Sirius continued to talk loudly, but his attention was more focused on the boy with messy brown hair. I swore I recognized him, but I just could not put my finger on it. 

I go back to my compartment where Caroline had already settled in. Her and Josephine were talking and the quiet girl, though she wasn’t speaking or looking at either of the girls, seemed to be actively listening. 

“...Gryffindor was my biological father’s house. I don’t know what house I’ll be sorted into though.” Josephine says.

Caroline asks, “what about your bio-mother?” 

“She didn’t attend Hogwarts, I’m a half-blood.”

“Ah.” She bobbed her head, “Yep. I still don’t understand the whole ‘house’ thing.” 

Josephine opens her mouth, about to answer, but the quiet girl interrupts, “simple. Gryffindor equals brave house. Ravenclaw equals smart house. Hufflepuff equals acceptance of all and hard-working house. Slytherin equals, well some would say evil house, but really it’s the ambitious house.” She looks meek, the confidence in her melting, “sorry to interrupt, I’m Iris.” Her voice was very soft, but I know I was able to hear a faint cockney accent.”

Josephine smiles at her, “nice to meet you, Iris.” She smiles back but shows no teeth.

“So, Iris? Did your parents attend Hogwarts?” I ask.

“My mother did. Hufflepuff, class of ‘39.” 

“So you’re a half… blood?” Caroline asks and looks at me to confirm it was the right word to use, I nod. 

Iris shakes her head, “no. My father is a wizard too, but he attended Beauxbatons. It’s in France.”

Josephine pipes up, “I lived in France for a year when I was 9 before we moved back to Ireland. It’s such a beautiful country and Beauxbatons is supposed to be a gorgeous school, especially in the winter.”

Caroline laughs a little, “learning about all you guys is interesting, but can we get back to the house, I’m still confused. How do they know if we are brave or whatever?” 

“Magic hat.” Iris and I say at the same time and we both laugh. 

“Some people believe the hat takes your wants into consideration and it’s not so much who you are as a person, but what you value. If you value bravery and strength and you want Gryffindor, then you are in Gryffindor.” I say, mentioning things my parents had told me before. 

“What house do you think you’ll be in, Josephine?” Iris asks. 

Josephine shakes her head, “I don’t know, honestly.” Iris asks Caroline but Caroline shakes her head too and shrugs.

Then she asks me. I open my mouth but then close it almost immediately. What house do I want to be in? My mum was a Ravenclaw and dad was a Slytherin, both thirsty for knowledge, both independent and strong-willed, both amazing people, and I wanted to please them both. “I don’t know, honestly,” I said with a light shrug.

Josephine turns the question around, “how about you, Iris?” 

Iris shakes her head, “I’m not sure. What do you guys think?” 

I think for a moment, “Ravenclaw.” 

Iris looks a bit taken aback, “really? My mother always said Hufflepuff.”

I laugh a little, “I don’t think I know you more than your mother does but that’s my wager. I think Caroline will be Hufflepuff.” Of course, she would be, she reminded me so much of Elizabeth, it was astounding. Caroline leans back, content. “But Josephine, I’m not sure about you.” 

Josephine puts her hand to her chest in mock hurt, “I am wounded, Eloise. We’ve known each other for so long, hours!”

While we all laugh and continue talking about our lives and our theories about Hogwarts, Iris was like a walking textbook. I can’t help but think, as I look at Josephine’s dimples, listen to Iris’ timid laughter, and see Caroline’s dark freckles that Hogwarts can’t be as bad as I was worried it would be.


	4. The (Dreaded?) Sorting

A little woman came around offering treats of all kinds. We bought 4 chocolate frogs and 1 got away, much to Josephine’s and Caroline’s shock and dismay. Iris said she didn’t need one so we were able to split it evenly between the 3 of us. We also bought Bertie Botts’ every flavor beans. I ate 4 bad ones before deciding not to test my luck anymore (I got 4/4 bad ones). 

When a prefect came around, giving us a 20-minute warning, we changed into our robes. I was the first one dressed. Iris' hung very loose around her thin frame and she seemed very uncomfortable in them, rubbing her arms. Caroline seemed to get lost in them, she originally put her hand through the head hole and then her head through her armhole. Josephine ended up helping her and we were all ready by the time we pulled in. 

Hogwarts. 

When we exited the train, bags in hand, I never would have expected it to look so, well, big. It was a dark and the sky was filled with clouds so it looked sorta ominous, not like the rainbows and magical ponies I had always pictured it to have as a very tiny child. There wasn't much light (which added to the ominous effect) which I was happy about, because Iris and I were able to point out constellations to Josephine and Caroline without worrying about light pollution from the castle or any nearby buildings. There were of course lights on, but the castle was far away and the only light that was a bit of a bother were the laterns and torches that lead up the pathway.

I was so focused on pointing out constellations, I didn’t even hear the tall man calling for all 1st years until Josephine grabbed my arm and hauled me from where I was standing. The giant-human-looking man looked young, but he had to be at least 8 feet. He stood over all of us and when he was doing taking roll, he poured us into 30 boats and we sailed towards the castle ("per 1st-year tradition," Iris explained to the other 2.)

After what seemed like forever of rowing and hiking up the steep pathway to the castle, we were inside and we were being ushered into a large room where we were introduced to Professor McGonagall, the Gryffindor house head, and the transfiguration teacher. She had her dark, greying hair pulled back in a bun and wore beautiful red robes with gold trimming around the hem. She seemed a stern, but my mother explained she was kind and protective to the others who were "worthy" of it. 

Although my mother wasn't a Gryffindor, her and McGonagall got along well (McGonagall wasn't yet theTransfiguration teacher yet, she was Dumbledore's TA). My mother would turn to her often times when she was in a "crisis" and if McGonagall didn't have other things to tend to, she'd invite my mother into her office and offer her a biscuit, "sometimes they had chocolate chips. She never did tell me where she got them, I think maybe she makes them herself."

After she ran through everything regarding 1st years she brought us into the Great Hall where 100s of students had already gathered. I felt extremely awkward walking in between all those people, even though I knew they weren’t looking directly at me and stayed close to Josephine. Caroline seemed entranced by everything around her. The night sky hanging from the ceiling, the floating candles, the almost unnaturally high ceilings and walls. She kept tripping and eventually she hit her knee on a table, but she didn’t seem to care or even notice. Josephine, like me, seemed nervous and I wonder if the magic of Hogwarts would hit her later. 

Once we were all gathered at the front of the Great Hall, an old man stood up and addressed us. He blabbed on about our stay at Hogwarts, mentioned some riddles, and then introduced the sorting hat, telling us that it would decide where we belonged. It sang a little song introducing each house, it had a nice melody, and we all applauded at the end. McGonagall set the hat down on the wooden stool in front of her and started to call out names.

Since my name was Vane, I wouldn’t be called up for a while. I didn’t know Iris’ or Josephine’s last name, but Caroline told me hers was James. Names were called, Angela Adams (Ravenclaw), Lilian Aberforth (Gryffindor)… but I didn’t recognize anyone until Sirius was called. I didn’t know him very well since his family despised mine, we never talked much, but he always looked rebellious and tough, or as rebellious and tough as an 11-year-old-boy could, but now he just looked afraid and sickly as he sat under the hat. The hat pondered for a few minutes before shouting out Gryffindor. Sirius sat down, a beat in his step, and I don’t think I ever saw anyone so happy. 

Then, I didn’t recognize anyone until “Lily Evans!” was called. She was the redhead girl I saw on the train coming to Hogwarts. She climbed on to the seat, sure of herself, and the hat barely touched her head before it yelled out “Gryffindor!” She smiled and headed to the table of gold and red. 

Names were called and I listened, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff seemed to be the most frequent houses for people to be sorted into. Each person’s name flew by until I heard, “Iris Goodwin” and my friend’s head shot up. She had been looking at the floor, tapping her foot. Goodwin, so that was her surname. She looked at me and I tried my best to give her an encouraging smile. She smiled back a tiny smile before heading up and sitting down underneath the chair. Minutes went by. 10 minutes must’ve gone by before the hat finally shouted out a house, “Ravenclaw!” She didn’t seem disappointed, just a little confused about why it took so long. She made eye contact with me before sitting down. 

Caroline was called not too long after and the hat sat on her for no more than 6 seconds before it called out, “Hufflepuff!” I smiled, knowing it all along. She practically skipped over to the table where students were decked out in yellow and black, all smiling at her. I didn't see Elizabeth in the sea of yellow. 

The next person I recognized was Remus Lupin. He was the timid-looking boy I had seen on the platform with scars all over his body. He sat on the stool and it only took the hat a minute before it called out, “Gryffindor!” Mary MacDonald was called after him and was also sorted into Gryffindor. A girl named Annie McGrath with beautiful dark hair was called, she was sorted into Slytherin. There was some booing from Gryffindor, as to be expected, but It still made me feel awkward and uncomfortable.

More people were called, Peter Pettigrew (Gryffindor) and then “James Potter” Potter! Of course, I knew I recognized him and his family on the platform. I had seen his father at ministry family functions before. He was sorted into Gryffindor, like his dad. If I could recall, his mother was in Ravenclaw, or had she gone to a different school? I couldn’t recall honestly. He sat next to Sirius, they had sat together on the train in the compartment with Lily and they seemed to become close friends fast, they were also both pretty close to Remus and Peter. It made sense since they had all been in the compartment together.

“Severus Snape!” I recognized him from the compartment with Lily: the pale, dark-haired boy. He looked at her through his entire sorting, which didn’t take too long, and he was sorted into Slytherin. He looked upset and not at all surprised, but still angry. Lily looked sad too. 

Josephine was sorted shortly after and put in Slytherin, which I was actually surprised about. She seemed upset by the small boos but kept a smile on her face after I gave her a thumbs up. 

I didn’t recognize anyone else's face or name until my own was called, “Eloise Vane.” McGonagall's voice seemed louder when it was your name she was calling. I took a deep breath and walked through the thinning group of 1st years. I sat down on the seat, the chair wobbled a little and I internally panicked, thinking I was going to topple, but McGonagall put a hand on the back of it to sturdy it and gave me reassuring nod when I looked up at her. 

The Sorting Hat spoke and I realized that only I could hear, “Eloise Vane. Daughter of Louisa Vane née Robinson, and William Vane." Its voice was breathy, but was clear and seemed to bounce around my head, from ear to ear. "Your mother was easy to place, easier than most that year, but your father was a bit more difficult, he had the thirst for knowledge and the want of something more, but I didn’t know if he would truly thrive in Slytherin. I thought his pride might fit with Gryffindor or his quiet kindness might fit well in Hufflepuff. But, any doubt I had about his placement was sorely misplaced, he was an excellent student and became that because of the house he was in. Your mother was also hungry to learn and it seems you are too. I definitely don’t think Gryffindor is the right place for you. They’re too loud, not enough focus, don’t have enough drive to push you to your limits. Hufflepuffs are hard-workers and I can tell that you are too, but that house doesn’t seem quite right either. Tell me, Eloise Vane, which house do you desire?” I don’t know. I didn’t say it, but it seems he heard me, “not sure, aye? All on me, then?” He doesn’t speak to me again, only seemed to hum. It’s quiet for another minute before he screams out, “Slytherin!”


	5. The Aftermath

“Slytherin!” Slytherin… my father’s home. I knew the prejudice against Slytherin, I haven’t even been at school for a day and I’ve seen it: the booing, the mean looks, I even saw a Gryffindor spit on a Slytherin boy’s shoes and the Slytherin boy hexed him in return. McGonagall intervened and the two were given multiple detentions. 

I knew that Slytherin in itself wasn’t evil, people just pushed us into a corner with their expectations and their ideas of us and some of us had no other choices than to explode, blow up, and then we were blamed for the aftermath. Slytherins were always, always blamed. 

Why did I feel glued to my chair? Why couldn't I just get up? Everyone was looking, I just needed to get up, the table wasn’t far, maybe only 15 feet, I could make it. Move. Move. Everyone is looking, move!

I stand up, wobbly, my knees bumped into one another and I tried to straighten. Everyone was looking. McGonagall, I think, puts a hand on my shoulder, seemingly asking: are you alright? I don't respond, I just begin to walk towards the table, fully aware everyone is staring, probably confused why I was taking so long to get there. The not-yet-sorted 1st students, the teachers, everyone at every table, older students, everybody. My stomach starts to swirl along with my head and I began to breathe hard. McGonagall sounds like she stepped closer to me as if she was scared I'd fall or something.

And before I know it, I am falling, but my head doesn’t make contact with the floor. I thought McGonagall had caught me or Dumbledore, but when I turn my head, McGonagall was just staring wide-eyed and Dumbledore probably knew what had just happened, but he has his eyes closed and seemed to be humming. I managed to get up with the help of Josephine, who had rushed over. I look around. 

Everyone. Really. Was. Staring. 

There was one girl in particular who was looking at me, she had her wand up and was slowly lowering it. She was standing towards the front of the Hufflepuff table and it surprised me that I didn’t notice her before. Elizabeth. Her golden curls, her bright green eyes, her freckles, her chubby cheeks that had become less chubby since I'd last seen her, but were still full. A tear falls from my eyes and then all I see is black, but I know I don’t hit the floor because Josephine’s arms were still around me

***

I wake up with my head throbbing and it felt like I was going to throw up. It was extremely cold in the all-white room. I burrowed deeper into the bed trying to warm myself up. My head continued to pound and I moaned. Immediately, a 30-some old woman was ripping the curtains around my bed away and she started looking at my vitals listed on a clipboard hanging from my bed. After a moment, she looks at me, “how are you feeling, Miss Vane?” Her voice was soothing but loud.

I nod but my head hurts from the motion and she notices. “Alright. Well, it’s unfortunate you fainted and didn’t get to spend your first night at Hogwarts in your dorm, but classes don’t start until the day after tomorrow because 2 new teachers haven’t arrived yet, so you aren’t missing any school work. You should be out by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. Also, you have a visitor and I suppose you are well enough to see them.” 

The nurse leaves and Elizabeth’s head peaks behind the curtain. Her curls were tangled, but she still looked radiant. I couldn’t remember a time where I thought Elizabeth was anything other than beautiful. Even when she was young, she had beautiful, big eyes and tan skin. She smiles at me and it's so warm and familiar, but it also vanishes quickly. “Bloody hell. You scared the crap out of me.” She hits my knee with the notebook she was holding and I yelp. “Sorry,” she says sheepishly and pats my knee lightly. “But don’t do it again or I swear.” 

I smile weakly at her, “I’ve missed you, Eliza.” 

She smiles again and leans down and hugs me, “I’ve missed you too.” I hug her back. 

Then, I became tense. She pulls away, keeping a hand on my shoulder, “what’s wrong?”

Slytherin. I just remembered. 

I bite my lip, “what do you think about it all? I mean, me in Slytherin?” 

Now, it was Elizabeth’s turn to be tense. She sits down on the corner of my bed. “I, of course, would want you in Hufflepuff, but I don’t have any prejudices against Slytherin house, there are some nasty people in Slytherin, but there are nasty people in all of the houses, even in Hufflepuff, despite what people think. Slytherin has a bad reputation, but it isn’t bad in and of itself, you should know that.” My father, the most brilliant, kindest, funniest man I knew, was a Slytherin. 

I nod. Before I actually came here, I would’ve been happy anywhere, but hearing the boos and the terrible things shouted. I didn’t think I could bear that for the next seven years of my life. 

Elizabeth rubs my head and says goodbye before leaving. I fall back asleep, surprisingly, since every hateful thing I’d ever heard was on a loop in my head. They didn’t stop in my dreams either. 

***

Madame Pomfrey gave me the all clear the next day around noon. I slept through breakfast and was served cold eggs, but I wasn’t hungry. She told me where to go and who to talk to if I needed help and that all my stuff was already delivered to my room. 

I thank her for everything and she seemed surprised and just nodded, shooing me away. I wonder if she ever got any recognition. She turned her attention to a 5th-year boy who had fallen down one of the moving staircases while playing tag with some younger kids. 

I make my way to the Slytherin dorms, following the directions Madame Pomfrey had given me. After 15 minutes of walking around aimlessly, I see a girl in robes with a Slytherin badge and follow her. She glares at me after a few minutes, but after explaining everything, she nods and I continue to follow her. The temperature dropped the closer we got to the dungeon and I couldn’t help but shiver. Without turning around she simply says, “you’ll get used to it.”

She says the password, she was quiet, but I know I hear the word blood. Suddenly I had a new reason to shiver. 

She points me to a room towards the right of the common area. I enter and immediately a force hits into me, I recognize Josephine’s thick braids and embrace her in return, ignoring my throbbing head. She pulls back and holds our joined hands in between us. “Are you alright?” I had never seen a girl my age look so genuinely worried about anything. Well, there was a girl who lived down the street from me, she went to my school as a kid and got caught cheating. Her mother wasn’t very kind and she was extremely scared, but even she didn't look this afraid.

I nod, “yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” I try to smile, but it felt more like a grimace. 

She doesn’t pry and instead introduces our 3 roommates. Annie, Olivia, and Mathilda. Annie had dark hair, similar to Iris’, but shorter and bright blue eyes. She was a born to a squib mother and her father was a muggle. Olivia was tan and had brown hair and dark brown eyes and was muggleborn. Mathilda was older-looking, like Josephine. She had a short, blonde bob and green eyes that matched our room’s walls. She informed me that she “was practically a pureblood” and that only her aunt, niece, and 2nd cousin weren’t wizards, but they weren't really "a part of the family." She was a bit pretentious, but as long as she wasn’t racist towards Josephine or anybody else I could look past that. I smile as they each introduce themselves. After a few minutes, they leave the room and it’s just Josephine and me. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” 

I hang my head, “I don’t know what happened. The stress, the booing,” I sigh and gesture to nothing, “just everything.” I’m quiet for a moment before adding, “I think my father will be upset by how I reacted.”

Josephine shakes her head, “I don’t think so. I don’t know your dad, or your mom, but no good parent would be sad about you getting sorted into their house.“ She nudges me, “your mom might be a little angry with you for not being sorted into her house.” 

I let out a breathy laugh. “They bet on it. She’ll be mad she lost the bet, she rarely loses their bets.” 

Josephine laughs too. 

“What about your parents? I met them, but you haven’t told me much about them.” 

She gets quiet for a minute, then she clears her throat. “They're divorced, actually. It was a clean divorce, they’re still friendly, but they aren’t together. My dad has a serious girlfriend, she’s nice, but not my mom.” Again, she’s quiet for a minute, then, “she’s white. My dad’s white, but my mom obviously isn’t. I’m mixed and my mother has never explicitly said anything about it, but I think she is self-conscious over the fact he was married to my mom and is now dating a woman with his skin color.” She shrugs. “It makes me feel a little awkward around her because that’s what I think about when I see her."

She spoke very well for a girl our age, clear and articulate and mature, and I could tell everything that she was saying even with her heavy Irish accent. 

I put my hand on her shoulder, “sorry doesn’t seem the right thing to say, but I’m sorry that you have to go through all that.” 

“Like I said, it’s okay, because they’re still friends, just kind of hard.” 

We sit there for awhile and at first it’s kinda weird, but the silence isn’t awkward. Eventually, I say, “how about we get some food. We have an in with Hufflepuff, don’t we? And they’re right by the kitchens.” Josephine smiles at the mention of Caroline and I was looking forward to maybe running into Elizabeth. 

We leave our room and head to the door so we can leave the dorm. Before we get there, we’re stopped by a group of older students. I recognize a few of them from various events and things. Standing at the front of the group was a tall boy with stark blonde hair that made me recognize him immediately: Lucius Malfoy. 

Behind him was another blonde who had beautiful blue eyes. She looked much older than 17, at least 20. They looked similar enough that I would’ve thought they were siblings, but I knew better. She had a hand on his back. Presumably, it was Narcissa Malfoy, Lucius’ girlfriend of 2 1/2 years. That or Lucius was a dog, which wouldn't surprise me. 

He smiles and it reminds me of a viper. His groupees do the same except for Narcissa and who I recognized as her sister Andromeda. Andromeda didn’t smile, she actually looked uncomfortable even being there, she stood away from the group, but close to Narcissa, protective of her younger sister. The third and oldest sister, Bellatrix, did smile just like Lucius though. Recognizing Bellatrix, I was able to put together another who another one of the people was. Rodolphus Lestrange, “Bellatrix’s pet” as my mom had described him at one ministry function I attended less than a year ago. I thought it had been a joke, but seeing him next to her now, I could definitely see it wasn’t a joke. Bellatrix wasn’t giving any attention to the guy practically breathing all over her. 

“Hello,” Josephine says quietly. I tense a bit, Josephine had never dealt with people like this. Well, I’m sure she had, but never in the wizarding world. Everything was different here. What I was thinking was confirmed when Bellatrix practically bares her teeth at the “muggleborn who had the nerve to talk to them”, but Narcissa put a hand on her shoulder and Bellatrix looked at her. Narcissa just gave her a pointed look and pat Bellatrix's bony shoulder. Bellatrix exhaled and became less tense. 

Lucius glances at her but then looks back at me, “Eloise. I haven’t seen you since that function, say, 2 years ago. You’ve grown.” The way he said it made me want to scurry away, but I didn’t break eye contact.

“It has been 2 years, Lucius. Girls change between the ages of 9 and 11.” 

He laughs, “true. So, where you going? I know your dad would want me looking after you.” 

No, he would not. 

“We wanted to walk around the castle, just trying to get a lay of the land, I suppose.” I wanted to get myself and Josephine out of this situation as soon as possible. Maybe I was overreacting, but my parents had never held anything back about the rumors they heard and the things they knew about people like the Malfoys and the Blacks. My mother and I discussed it over tea, the vile people. I felt uncomfortable around him. 

He kept smiling and moved aside, stretching his arm out and his group parted so we could get through to the door. I could feel Josephine’s eyes on me, but I did my best to imitate my mother as I walked past. I grabbed her hand and walked through them. It felt a little colder. 

After we got out of the dorm, Josephine and I looked at one another before we broke out into a run. When we finally got to the Kitchens, we broke out into laughter.


	6. The Marauders Make An Appearance

We didn’t think about it, but now that we were actually at the Hufflepuff dormitory we had no idea how to get in. There were a few Hufflepuffs hanging around outside the common room, but it felt weird to just ask them. So we just stood there, we weren’t wearing anything that showed that we were Slytherin so if anyone wanted to harass us, they’d have to recognize our faces from the sorting and that wasn't that impossible since I fainted. We talked a bit, trying to blend in. 

After less than 10 minutes, we finally hear a familiar voice. We turned around to see Caroline, her face was bright and her eyes were actually lit up like she put a charm on them. In books whenever eyes were described as "shinning" or "bright" I never really understood what that meant—until now.

She was smiling so much and it was infectious. We smiled back and she wrapped us in a tight hug. She pulled back but she still had her hand on each of our shoulders. "It’s so great to see you guys. I’ve missed you so much since the last time I saw you, like, 26 hours ago or something” 

Her smile drops a little. Suddenly she turns fully to me, “are you okay?” She drops her voice into a whisper, probably trying to not draw attention. 

I pat the hand that was holding on to my shoulder and whisper back, “I’m alright.” 

“I can’t imagine. Every Slytherin sorted was treated so nastily. It was disgusting. I should’ve been there when you woke up, I’m sorry.” 

Josephine puts her hand on my other shoulder, “I should’ve been too.” 

“Well, at least I was.” Elizabeth’s voice carried across the hall. I feel a little lighter when I see her coming up from a staircase. Her golden hair shone even in the dim candlelight and was pulled back into a bun. 

Josephine whispers, “who is that?”

Caroline and I both answer, “Elizabeth.” 

“How do you know that?” We both say at the same time, again. Then, we laugh. Elizabeth was still a way down. 

“She was really helpful in helping me settle in.” Caroline says first. 

“She’s been my best friend for years. Our parents are good friends.” Josephine and Caroline nod. Elizabeth is finally over to us, she’s shorter than me despite being older. She looked older in every other way though. She had a thin, narrow body. She had blonde hair that always had little curls in it. Her eyes were narrowed and she had a “resting mean face” as my mom called it. She was beautiful and she would only become more beautiful the older she got. 

She stands beside me and rubs my back, “feeling better?”

“Yeah. Thanks for being there.” I didn’t mean for it to sound like a shot at the others and I’m glad they didn’t seem to take it that way. 

“Of course.” She leans back against the cold marble wall next to us. She took off the black robe she had been wearing and folded it in her arms. Underneath she wasn’t wearing her uniform. Instead, she was wearing denim jeans that flared at the bottom and a loose-fitting, white poncho-type shirt with her yellow converse that she’d owned for years. She also had, I noticed, little daisies stuck messily in her bun. She looked comfy, but I was curious why she wasn’t wearing her uniform like most of the other kids. I guess it was optional on some days. 

Josephine hits my arm when she jumps up, “I forgot! We came down here to get some food.” 

I rub my arm and Elizabeth shoots me a worried glance, but I wave it off. She was always so overprotective. 

Caroline laughs, “I can try to sneak something? Do you want something sweet, Joe? And Eloise, something salty?” We both nod and she disappears behind the wooden door down the set of stairs. 

Elizabeth laughs, her eyes following Caroline down the steps. “She hasn’t even been here a week and she already has this place wired. I think she’ll fit in here.” Her smile fades and she doesn’t look back at us. “How’s Slytherin?” 

I tense involuntarily, but immediately try to relax. Josephine is quick to answer, perhaps sensing the tension. “It’s alright. We haven’t been there long enough to have the place “wired” yet but it seems like an alright place.” She snaps her fingers, “we’ll have to take a tour of it when we had back. Oooooh, maybe we’ll see the squid or the mermaids.” 

Caroline comes back up in less than 5 minutes. She has a little basket with yellow ribbon tied around it and little flowers poking out. There were even napkins in the basket. She informed us, “there are pretzels, cookies, and cinnamon-something or others.” She shrugs, “the house elves made them. They’re very kind.” 

I smile at Caroline, take the basket and give her the best hug I was able to while still holding on to the basket. I was so glad I had already made friends. Josephine and Caroline and Elizabeth were my closest friends and although the year hasn’t started, I was already extremely grateful for them. 

Suddenly, a loud bang echoes through the corridors and then laughter. 2 boys, I recognized as James and Sirius, run around the corner, nearly knocking into a banister. James seemed to be holding something bright blue, but I couldn’t tell what. A pudgy boy that I recognized as Peter Pettigrew was chasing after them, smiling all the while. Remus Lupin was trailing them but was also writing in a notebook and looked a little bored.

It was quiet for a minute before a small, pale, red-haired girl came rushing around the corner. Half her hair was curled and tied up with a blue ribbon and the other half was lying, flatly, on her shoulder. She looked furious, her eyes scanned the hall before landing on us. Her expression didn’t change as she stormed over to us.

“Have you seen 2 or 3 obnoxious boys racing through these halls. They are 1st years like all of you, but act more like 1-year-olds.” Elizabeth again laughs and doesn’t bother correcting Lily on the fact she was a 3rd year. 

I clear my throat, “do you mean James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus?” She nods. “Yeah, they ran through here a little while ago. I think they have one of your missing ribbons.” I point at the hair laying on her shoulder.

She becomes a little red and pulls the other ribbon out of her hair. “They aren’t mine. They’re my roommate, Mary’s. She wanted to do something with my hair and the boys yanked one of the ribbons out of her hand. She began to cry and I promised I’d get them back so…” 

“We’ll keep an eye--” 

Sirius ran around the corner closest to us and if he hadn’t been yelling, “she won’t catch us, James!” Then, she might not have done just that. Instead, he had his head turned towards James and ran right into Lily, who kicked his shin and ripped the ribbon out of his hand before storming back to Gryffindor. He fell to the ground, rubbing his shin. James was behind the corner, laughing. Peter was behind him and Remus was following her. I think he might have been apologizing or complaining about how obnoxious what they did was. 

Sirius got up and dusted himself off. He registered Caroline and Elizabeth and smiled. Then, he looked at Josephine and I. He didn’t growl or anything of the sort, but he didn’t look happy to be next to 2 Slytherins. He walked off towards James and Peter and began to laugh again. 

“Well, they seem quite obnoxious. Lily was right.” Elizabeth says rubbing her temples. She seemed so much older and more mature at Hogwarts. It was odd how much she’d grown in the months since I’d seen her. She seemed more 17, then 13, but she was almost 14, maybe that was part of it. 

Somewhere in the halls, a bell rang and Elizabeth sighed. “Better get back to your room, that means the Heads need to talk to their students.” She gives me a 1-armed hug and heads downstairs. 

Caroline hangs back, “I have a feeling this school year is going to be amazing.” She had a dreamy look in her eyes and smiled. I hoped she was right.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Leave comments and advice if you desire, I'd love to hear anything you have to say, but keep in mind: Constructive criticism, advice, tips, help, whatever is appreciated.


End file.
